Construction is nearly complete on the apartment complex at the beginning of the trail.
Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.
-Bertolt Brecht
The temperatures are still quite warm, with peaks in the high 70s to 80℉. The leaves are falling with increased fervor, just the same. The birches have been joined by an increasing number of maples and the ground is becoming more and more blanketed in yellow and tan. The oaks have not yet joined the melee en force, but the ones that are not marcescent (marcescent trees hold onto their dead leaves through the winter) aren’t far behind. The oaks are the last to start and the last to finish their denudation, although the maples shed their verdant cloaks slowly and are almost contemporary. It just occurred to me that the oaks are the tallest, the maples next and the other trees shorter. Maybe the order of the leaf loss has something to do with the taller trees trying to eke out the energy of the sun longer because of that. In the spring, the order of foliation is in that same order – smaller plants sprout new leaves sooner and the taller ones later in the season.
The construction projects along the trail are nearing their completion. The housing complex near the beginning of the trail is mostly done and I think they are about to pave the parking lot. The giveaway is that they have laid down a path that goes from the complex to the rail-trail, although it isn’t paved yet. The buildings across the street from there look pretty nearly done as well. I would expect people to start moving in before the coldest days of winter.
The parking lot an eighth of a mile up the trail from its beginning is paved and white lines marking out the slots have been painted. The fence around it is still up and the gate closed, but it looks pretty close to being ready to receive cars. I have no idea what they’re waiting for before it’s opened, but it isn’t open yet.
The great dirt push-around at the old landfill is nearly done too. For a year now, there hasn’t been noticeable progress, then, a couple of weeks ago, the piles started being smoothed out on top and different layers of soil and sand were laid down. The other day, Waldo and I walked by and there was nothing much different and then, an hour later, on our way back, grass seed had been sprayed on top. Today, about half of the area has been sprayed, although there are large piles of topsoil still being pushed around near the beginning. They’ve yet to smooth out a space for the parking lot and pave it, so there is still much to be done. Given the fact that the grass needs a number of months to establish itself, I’m guessing the place won’t be open until late next summer or in the fall. It may take longer than that.
Despite the construction, much of the trail remains unchanged, except by the seasons. The patch of forest that Boston Scientific tried to sell to a developer, and failed, remains pristine (I’m not sure how long that’ll last). The ivy tree stands as green as ever. The Covid garden still entices with floral offerings and the Marlborough rock garden sign yet stands amongst a pool of small stones exhorting the passerby to, “Take one, Leave one, Share one.”
Waldo and I greet the old-guard, “hardcore” rail-trail visitors as we always have. This includes the old folks, people with dogs, bicyclists, roller skaters and parents pushing baby buggies full of their most precious cargo. We haven’t seen Derrick, the homeless camper, recently – although his tent is still there. It looks like the new leaves that have recently fallen haven’t been disturbed, so I worry about him a little. I hope he has somewhere else to go when it gets real cold out.
One thing that Waldo and I have recently had to contend with that I don’t like, is the increasing number of electrified vehicles on the trail. I don’t know why this has recently come to be such a thing, but it seems it has. It’s clearly posted that motorized vehicles are not allowed, and yet people seem to think that if their “vehicles” have electric motors, this doesn’t apply to them. There are one-wheeled vehicles (sort of like a one wheeled Segway without a handlebar), scooters, electric bicycles and other devices that are hard to describe out here. My one real complaint about them is that they are operated at speeds that are unsafe. There are too many dogs and little kids out here who can be unpredictable and impossible to avoid at high speeds. Of course, there are many regular bicycles out here, too, whose riders don’t operate at safe speeds. I’m afraid we’re stuck with them, though. At least until the first snow.
For now, Waldo and I trek our way down the trail, enjoying Mother Nature as best we can, and try to think of the rest like the changing seasons.
This too shall pass.
The new park is nearing completion.